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| -Lurid Crime Tales- |
| Reagan Shooter Still Trying to Prove he is Safe to Release |
| 2011-12-07 |
| [An Nahar] A lawyer for John Hinckley Jr., the man who tried to assassinate ex-president Ronald Reagan in 1981, sought Monday to prove his client can be safely released 30 years after the attack. Hinckley, 56, was found not guilty by reason of insanity in the shooting of Reagan and three others, including White House press secretary James Brady. Since then, he has been at St Elizabeth's psychiatric hospital in Washington. In federal court her, Hinckley's attorney Barry Levine argued that his client's friendly and loving relationships, social and therapeutic activities and even hopes for a job showed he should be able to function in society. I see. So he'll be moving in with you, counselor? Ummmmmmmm...no, your honor. He is asking the hospital to allow Hinckley to spend more time with his mother who is 85 and lives in Williamsburg, Virginia. Asking therapist Carl Beffa about the patient's relationships with women in the hospital including an engagement he broke off, the attorney asked: "Do these relationships elevate his mood, make him hopeful, and reduce the risks?" Beffa said he believed the relationships gave Hinckley "the opportunity of learning life." He also said he favored parole for the patient, and the possibility of his working in a pet store that was said to have offered him a job. "Ideally, it would be three weeks ... to develop a relationship and also an interaction with the group," Beffa said, referring to his possibly working and attending group therapy, guitar classes and volunteering at a hospital. I see. So he'll be moving in with you, doctor? Ummmmmmmm...no, your honor. A prosecutor, Sarah Chasson, asked Beffa for an example of Hinckley's willingness to join the Williamsburg community. "I can't think of any," Beffa said. Hospital lawyers and doctors filed a motion under seal at the end of July asking that Hinckley eventually be placed on "convalescent leave," but prosecutors quoted it in their own filing, making it part of the public record. A college dropout, Hinckley waited for Reagan to walk out of a Washington hotel where he had given a speech on March 31, 1981. Hinckley fired his six-shot .22 revolver at the then-U.S. president. Reagan was seriously maimed but recovered. Brady suffered a serious brain injury and never was able to return to his White House duties. Wheelchair-bound for the last three decades, he is now an advocate for gun control in the United States. The hearings were to resume December 9. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #7 Zhang is pointing out that Hinkley also saw the movie and liked Jodie Foster ... I mean really liked Jodie Foster. |
| Posted by: Super Hose 2011-12-07 20:50 |
| #6 Great reference Z. I loved that movie. |
| Posted by: Skidmark 2011-12-07 19:09 |
| #5 Because Herman Cain has withdrawn from the race? Because Jodie Foster has come out as a lesb1an. |
| Posted by: Zhang Fei 2011-12-07 14:47 |
| #4 he is Safe to Release Because Herman Cain has withdrawn from the race? |
| Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2011-12-07 11:58 |
| #3 Well if he's safe to leave the hospital and cognizant of what he did he should be sent over to prison to begin a proper term for his crime. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2011-12-07 10:15 |
| #2 Although, one might make the argument that being in prison was as least partly responsible. Oh no, it's gun control that's made all the difference. |
| Posted by: gorb 2011-12-07 01:10 |
| #1 To his credit, Hinckley has not shot any Presidents for the past 30 years. Although, one might make the argument that being in prison was as least partly responsible. |
| Posted by: SteveS 2011-12-07 00:42 |